Prime Target Season 1 Episodes 1-2 recap: Mallinder's fate, Edward's visitor, NSA's target and more

Prime Target is the latest thriller to join Apple TV+'s repertoire of content. Prime Target premiered on January 22 on the streaming platform and stars Leo Woodall as Edward Brooks. At the center of Prime Target is the research into prime numbers being carried on by Edward Brooks. The Apple TV+ show begins with two simultaneous storylines.

On one hand, Edward takes his research into prime number to Professor Robert Mallinder, who is strangely opposed to the subject of the research. On the other hand, a young NSA agent named Tayla Sanders becomes deeply involved with Brooks and Mallinder after surveilling the latter.

Prime Target has premiered with the first two episodes. Things really start getting hot for Brooks after he starts facing considerable difficulties in completing his research. In an interesting turn of events, the discovery of an old chamber in Baghdad somehow connects to his research. It threatens to have far-reaching consequences for global internet security if the research reaches its conclusion.

Here's a recap of what went down in the first two episodes.

---

What happened on Prime Target season 1 episode 1?

The first episode of Prime Target begins with a bomb explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, in which an attempt to rescue a mother and her daughter leads to the discovery of an old chamber. The scenario then moves to England, where our main character, Edward, attends a post-graduate math lecture with Professor Robert Mallinder (David Morrissey), who reproaches his pupils for Cambridge's decline in university rankings. He claims it because the mathematics department has not made any advances in a long time.

Next, Edward goes to Mallinder to get a paper graded; the professor comments that Edward is too brilliant to address issues like the one he's chosen. Edward recalls seeing the number 204 on a bus and informs Mallinder it has a pattern, but Mallinder already knows what it is. As the talk finishes, we notice someone observing the two on a computer.

Over dinner that night, Edward informs Mallinder and Lavin about his job, which he claims is about attempting to uncover numbers that have yet to be discovered. He offers the number zero as an example, prompting Lavin to tell them about her Baghdad excavation.

Mallinder becomes paranoid after getting home. On his computer, he receives a coded message inquiring as to why he is again dealing with prime numbers. The debut episode, Prime Target, ends with Mallinder's surprising death.

---

Prime Target season 1 episode 2 recap

The second episode begins by focusing on Taylah Sander, an NSA agent tasked with surveilling university professors. Taylah's crew is part of the European unit pursuing the next digital weapon. They are tracking 15 major mathematicians across Europe, including Robert Mallinder.

Lavin, on the other hand, is devastated by Mallinder's death, whilst Edward is more concerned with retrieving his research from the man's office than with anything else. He isn't supposed to be in there right now, but he ignores the rules and breaks in that night. Taylah feels Mallinder's voice in his suicide letter was digitally manufactured.

Towards the second episode, the mystery further deepens as Olson is shot dead by a sniper, who then sets sights on Taylah as she desperately runs for cover.

Prime Target airs exclusively on Apple TV+.